Learning Difficulties in Programming Courses: Undergraduates´ Perspective and Perception

Researchers have been searching for alternatives in teaching programming subjects. A reason to this is due to the fact that the compulsory subject in the field of Information Technology has been a challenge and they are tough subjects to learn. On top of that, lacking the understanding in concepts has reduced undergraduates´ interests to pursue further exploration and self-experimentation. In this research work, a study was conducted to investigate the factors that lead to undergraduates´ learning difficulty in programming courses and also their perception on which teaching methodology could be implemented to create richer and interesting learning process. The study involved 182 undergraduates from Multimedia University, Malaysia, who have taken the fundamental programming subject named Computer Programming 1. The findings affirmed that undergraduates prefer to learn programming by referring to examples and using drill-practice method whereas learning via lecturing would only decrease their interest level. The challenge has provided an evidence to call for a better solution, game-based learning as an alternative to teach and learn computer programming subjects. Therefore, the authors proposed a game-based learning framework which consists of components that leverage the pedagogical aspects in designing game-based learning environment for programming subjects.